There's a pretty great piece by a writer in today's Salon: anonymously, she dishes all the dirt on her sales, advances, and her ensuing complete disgust with the publishing industry. So... who is she? The details thus far, some of which may have been slightly altered to protect her anonymity:

Probably in her mid to late 40s, "the author of several critically acclaimed, moderately successful books" has written about her "sex life and marriage counseling, my quirky predilections and unpopular politics, my worst mistakes and no-longer-secret yearnings." Or "you might know me by my number: 40,137. That's today's sales ranking of my latest book on Amazon." Published first book in 1996. Switches agents in 90s. Has a daughter, now 19, and a husband. Published third book, her most popular (and award-winning) in 2001, and fourth book in 2004.

Your guesses welcome at tips@gawker.com.

[Update: first guess: Anne Lamott. Not impossible, but the details don't quite fit. (From a reader: "She has a son, not a daughter, and he's probably about 10 years old now.") And it's not Lorrie Moore, she makes more money. It's probably not Francine Prose or Deborah Eisenberg, for biographical reasons. It's not Joy Williams, because it's not meanly-written enough. Best guess so far: Louisa Ermelino. And there's more: Jane Smiley? Amy Bloom? And some advice for sleuths: "I think the ghostwritten celeb bio that went on to be a bestseller in '97/'98 is one of the most useful clues for those in a position to solve the puzzle."

Some have brought up Karen Karbo, but her first book came out in 1989, and other bits don't fit. Others have suggested Jane Smiley, but she won't be bitching about the cash flow any time soon.

Try this on for size, from a reader: "The only author on amazon.com with a sales ranking of 40,137 is Joe Klein for his latest book. He wrote a 'celebrity biography' but didn't get real perks for it because his name 'wasn't on it' — Primary Colors was by Anonymous. His first book is out of print. The novel The Running Mate didn't do well.

Assuming some of the dates details have been changed, how do we know it's a

woman at all? And Klein does have a thing for anonymity." Funny, but all jokes aside: it's true, our anonymous friend here certainly could be a dude, dudes.

Dani Shapiro is definitely a good guess, but doesn't seem to fit due to her teaching career and other bits. Or Julie Hecht? "She's been in the news lately complaining about the lack of publicity for her latest book, 'The Unprofessionals,'" says a reader. Don't think she's a parent, though. Similarly good: Margot Livesey. And Allegra Goodman. And...

Basically, there's about four million semi-successful women writers who we don't actually know anything about. Go figure. See also: Bookslut's tips for how authors can help themselves.]

The confessions of a semi-successful author [Salon]